The charges were filed in the District’s federal court in a “criminal information,” a document that can only be filed with the defendant’s consent and signals a plea deal is near, the officials said. Brown did not immediately return phone calls. His attorney, Frederick D. Cooke Jr., did not respond to numerous phone calls and emails Wednesday. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office, Bill Miller, declined to comment.

The three-page charging document says that Brown provided Industrial Bank of Washington “falsified documents” that overstated his income by “tens of thousands of dollars” to allow him to obtain a home equity loan and to purchase a boat. Prosecutors wrote that the two-year scam started in August 2005.

Bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, but Brown is sure to be exposed to far more lenient punishment under federal sentencing guidelines.